​Texas Rangers pitcher MacKenzie Gore (1) delivers during the first inning of a baseball game against the Seattle Mariners at Globe Life Field, Friday, July 24, 2026, in Arlington. (Chitose Suzuki/The Dallas Morning News)
ARLINGTON, Texas — MacKenzie Gore nearly let the second inning spiral away from him.The left-handed pitcher found himself in a jam Friday. Seattle had the bases loaded with two outs after Weston Wilson’s RBI single to right field scored Josh Naylor. Three-time All-Star Randy Arozarena was positioned to give the Mariners an early lead.Gore had faced Arozarena nine times earlier this season, giving him experience to draw from in the situation.“I’ve gotten him out before, and I understand how I did it,” Gore said after the game. “We kind of kept him on the heater, then we threw an aggressive curveball, and he didn’t hit it very hard in that inning.”Gore threw an 83 mph curveball toward the bottom of the zone, inducing a groundout that kept the score tied.Although Gore escaped the second inning having allowed only one run, Seattle threatened again in the fifth. He gave up hits to three of the first four batters that inning. Dominic Canzone hit a two-run double into left-center field, scoring Arozarena and Colt Emerson.With the game tied 3-3, Gore once again found himself in a difficult situation.He escaped by recording consecutive outs on a pop fly and a flyout.“We did give up probably more than we would like to,” Gore said. “Especially after scoring. It was a tough game. We competed every inning, and it was a huge win for us.”Left-handed batters have given Gore the most trouble lately. Canzone and Emerson found success against his breaking and off-speed pitches.“The lefty thing has kind of been weird, but it’s been real,” Gore said. “It’s frustrating, and I’m going to continue to try to figure out how to make the adjustment.”The night was a battle for Gore, who threw 96 pitches over five innings, including 31 in the second. He responded with strong third and fourth innings, closing the fourth with consecutive strikeouts.After an eventful five innings, Rangers manager Skip Schumaker knew Gore’s night was over. He, too, was concerned about Gore’s matchups with left-handed hitters.“There’s a couple walks mixed in with the lefties and a couple hits that ended up costing some runs,” Schumaker said. “He didn’t find his changeup until probably the third or fourth inning. Then it became really effective.“I think the lefties probably ended his night. That ended up costing him an extra inning or two because everything else was really good.”July has not been smooth sailing for Gore. Before Friday, his ERA for the month was 8.24, by far his worst of the season. Still, he struck out seven batters in three of his four previous July starts and added five strikeouts Friday.The bullpen held strong after Gore’s departure. Left-handed reliever Tyler Alexander pitched two-thirds of a scorele